Doctor Douchebag
by MorgieSan
Summary: A story co-written many moons ago with Cassie, kbecks41319. It's a break up fic, and Josh is a bit of a creeper in it.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: Cassie and I don't own Castle.

Notes: So, if you follow either Cassie or I on Tumblr then you've no doubt read this story. It started out with me leaving this part in her ask box. She was displeased with the ending so she wrote chapter two, and then it became this battle of sorts. We went back and forth on it, until I accidentally ended it. But this is our story from Tumblr. We did make Josh a bad guy in this story, but we're also not apologetic about it. He's not really an awful guy and this isn't really the show, so you'll let us have our fun?

Anyway, without further ado... I present to you Doctor Douchebag

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><p>Kate groped blindly on her bedside table for her cell phone. The owner of the arm draped over her stomach gripped her tighter and groaned into the pillow, but she ignored him and cracked one eye open to find her phone. She grabbed it just before it vibrated off into the floor. She checked the screen and before she could answer it the phone he grabbed it and tossed it to the end of the bed.<p>

"No," he mumbled burrowing further into her side.

Kate shoved his arm away and sat up to retrieve the phone. "Beckett."

"Kate..."

"Alexis? It's..." Kate turned and checked the clock on her table. "It's Two o'clock, are you okay?" She got out of the bed and scurried into the living room to take the call.

"I'm sorry, I woke you up didn't I? Forget I called. I'm sorry..."

"Alexis," Kate interrupted quietly, "What's wrong?"

"Can you come and get me?" Alexis asked, trepidation in her voice.

"Of course I will." Kate could hear the muffled sounds of a bass beat, and quickly figured out Alexis was at a party. "Sweetie..." Kate started cautiously, "Why are you asking me though?" She barged back into her own room, and headed over to the closet to get dressed.

Alexis let out a slow breath. "I snuck out. I got into a fight with Dad, and Paige told me about this party. So I came over here, but she wasn't here. I was just so mad at him... I've been drinking, Kate. I'm scared, and hiding in a bathroom. I don't know anyone here, and I don't trust myself or any of the people out there. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't call him, so I thought..."

"Lex, sweetie, you made the right call. Where are you at?" Kate quickly jotted down the address. "I'll be there as soon as I can, okay?" Kate hung up and went to grab a pair of socks from her dresser.

"Body?" Josh asked. He was sitting up now with his arms crossed over his chest.

"No, it was Alexis," she responded sitting down on the edge of her bed to pull the socks on.

"Why is Castle's kid calling you?"

She grabbed her boots from the closet before answering. "She needs help." Kate zipped on the boots, and went back over to the bedside table.

"Doesn't she have a parent of her own to call for bail outs?"

"Yes, she does, but she called me. I'm not going to ignore that." Kate clipped her badge to the waist band of her jeans and opened the drawer to pull her gun out.

"She's not your responsibility."

"The hell she isn't, Josh. It's my best friend's kid. I'm not gonna leave her hanging," she answered, hotly, as she popped the magazine out of her gun. She gave it a quick check and shoved it back in before attaching the gun and holster to her back.

"So, she calls you and you just go running. Is that how it works?"

"Yes, Josh. That's exactly how it works," she replied over her shoulder as she stepped into the bathroom to pull her hair back and apply a little make-up to cover up how tired she was.

"I'll be gone when you get back."

"Okay." She ducked into her closet to grab a coat.

"I mean gone, gone. You're dumping our first night together in weeks for some kid. I'm not gonna be second fiddle."

Kate turned to him. "You're breaking up with me, because I care about the well being of someone else's child?"

"Yeah, Kate, I am. We barely see each other as it is, and then when our schedules finally make time for us you bail," he spat.

"She's a kid, Josh!" Kate fired right back.

"She's not your kid," Josh defended as he leaned over the edge of the bed to search for his shirt.

"No, she isn't, but I did make a promise to look after her if anything ever happened to Castle..."

Josh interrupted, "Something happened to Castle?"

"No, but she called me. That girl has her head screwed on tighter than you do, and for her to call me means she is in trouble. I'm going."

"Just because she can't call her mom to come get her doesn't mean you need to try and take her place. Let Castle go get her."

"Get out," Kate said slowly, her voice was icy.

"Excuse me?" Josh asked as he tugged his own jeans on.

"I said, get out. She can't call her mother because of circumstances that are beyond her control. If she chooses to call me, I'm not going to let her down."

"Right, are we talking about you or Alexis here?"

"Low blow, Josh. Way below the belt. Leave now, and maybe you won't get hurt," Kate hissed.

"Oh, boo-hoo, poor little Katie. Can't call her own mother so she decides to be everyone else's mom. Kate, she died, get over it," he barked the last words as he brushed past her to go put his shoes on.

"You don't get to call me Katie anymore, you lost that right the second Alexis became a problem for you. And for the record, you don't get over murder. You never get over murder." She grabbed her wallet and phone from the dresser and stuck them in her pocket. As an afterthought she put on her Dad's watch, and the necklace that held her mother's ring.

Josh sat on the couch looking like he'd been punched in the stomach. Kate marched past him and pulled open her front door. "So, yeah. Poor little Kate. Had her mother ripped away at such a young age. I was 19, barely older than she is now. Since you've never been a teenage girl, I'm going to give you a hint: If there is ever a time she needs a mother, it's now. Enjoy your life, Josh."

"I'm still the bad guy here, seriously? How the hell is it my fault you never told me she was murdered?" Josh angrily grabbed his coat and met her at the door.

"Leave, Josh. I have to go get Alexis."

He brushed by her and turned once he was on the other side of the threshold. "He's going to break your heart, and I'm not going to take you back."

"He already did," she barked slamming the door in his face. She took a calming breath and went back to her room, both to grab her cuffs and to give Josh time to leave. She grabbed a bottle of water, and plucked her keys from the ring by the door. She took another slow breath and sprinted for her stairs. She took them two at a time, in an effort to make up lost time on getting to Alexis.

Fifteen minutes later she was pulling into a space about a block from the address that Alexis had given her. She pulled her badge out and showed it to the doorman after she entered.

"Cops? What for?"

"A party," she replied dryly.

"Fifth floor, sixth unit." He pressed the button on the elevator, but she made a break for the stairwell, and flew up them. She didn't stop to breathe until she was in front of the sixth unit. The music was loud enough for her hear from the stairwell, and once at the door she didn't think anyone inside would be able to hear her.

Kate sighed and held her badge up to the peephole. She pounded on the door. "NYPD! OPEN UP!"

The music cut off immediately and she could hear people shuffling and voices whispering. After a minute the door inched open to reveal a kid who couldn't have been more than 18. He was clearly drunk, but he was trying to appear as sober as possible.

"Is there a problem?"

"Yes, but it goes away if everyone under the age of 21 leaves right now." Kate's cop senses were kicking in and telling her that it was a bad idea, but her main concern was Alexis. Her only concern was Alexis.

He turned and yelled into the apartment, and Kate stepped aside as people poured out. The other residents on the floor had cracked their doors open to watch her bust up the party that had been keeping them up all night. Her eyes darted around trying to catch sight of the red head.

Alexis stepped out of the shadows after the room had mostly emptied, and she looked over at Kate.

"Come on, Lex." Kate held an arm up and beckoned her over. Alexis ran to her and wrapped her in a tight hug. "If I even catch wind of a noise violation coming from this address, I will be back to arrest you, are we clear?"

The boy immediately sobered and choked out, "Yes, ma'am."

Kate turned with Alexis, and they headed back down the hall. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

"I'm fine. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you. They're all going to hate me."

Kate led them around the clog of people trying to get into the elevator, and took her to the stairwell. "Alexis, you are never a bother to me, do you understand?" She waited, and didn't speak again until Alexis nodded, "You did the right thing, Alexis. They'll hate you for a few days, but then they will figure out that you did a good thing." Kate stopped and hugged the girl on the landing for the third floor.

"Are you going to tell my dad?" Alexis asked as a fresh batch of tears streamed down her face.

"No, you are. I know you well enough to know that you won't let this get past him." They were quiet the rest of the trip back to Kate's car.

"Kate, will you take me home?"

"Yeah. Do you want me to go up with you?" Kate unlocked the car, and they both climbed in.

"Please?" she whispered.

"Always, Lex. I will always have your back." Kate gave her shoulder a squeeze, and headed toward the loft.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Still don't own it.

Notes: Cassie wrote this part. :)

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><p>"Alexis!" Rick jumped up from the couch and hurried over to his daughter who was coming through the door. "Thank God, you're okay. Where did you go? Why do you smell like..." His eyes traveled behind the redhead to land on his partner. "Beckett."<p>

The brunette simply smiled at him as Alexis crushed herself against his chest, her tiny arms wrapping around him. He pushed his curiosity to the side as he wrapped his own arms around her, squeezing her tightly and letting the fact that she was okay wash over him.

"I'm still mad at you," Alexis mumbled honestly. "But I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Lex." Rick took in a deep breath, letting the silence simply be enough for the moment. He knew he would have to punish her for sneaking out and for drinking. He could smell the alcohol radiating off of her.

"Can we talk in the morning? I'm so-" Her sentence was cut off as a yawn escaped her lips, only proving her point.

"I really think we should talk n-"

Behind his daughter, Kate cleared her throat and shook her head slightly when he looked up. Knowing better than to question her, he simply grit his teeth and nodded.

"Okay, pumpkin, we can talk tomorrow. Go on up to bed."

"Thanks, Dad." She hugged him tightly for a second before pulling back and turning around. "Thanks, Kate."

"No problem, Lex. You should take some Advil and water up to bed with you."

The redhead nodded and turned around, heading for the kitchen to grab what Kate told her to before continuing upstairs.

He watched his daughter climb the stairs slowly, his heart pounding loudly in his ears every time she stumbled. When she made it to the hallway, he turned to the detective.

"She's been drinking, right?"

"Yeah, Castle, she has been." Kate sighed and made her way farther into the apartment, closing the door.

"I can't believe she did that." He shook his head and moved over to the couch.

"You're lucky she has a good head on her shoulders, otherwise she would still be at that party." She followed him, sitting on the opposite side. "What were you two fighting about anyways?"

"College," he replied flatly. All energy had drained out of him the moment his daughter left the room, leaving him pale and crestfallen.

"College? You were fighting about college?" She raised an eyebrow at him, kicking her boots off and curling her feet up underneath her.

"She wants to go halfway across the damn country," he mumbled out like a stubborn child.

"You're upset that she wants to go to a good college?"

"Well.. Yeah.." He fidgeted with his shirt, looking around the room. Of course she made it all sound silly with a few simple words.

"You astound me, Richard Castle." She shook her head, a light smile on her lips. "She's a good girl, and you need to trust her."

"I do," he replied quickly. "But she's my bab-"

"Baby girl, I know. You both just need to sleep on it."

"You're right," he sighed but made no move to get up.

"How about we watch some T.V.?"

He nodded, grabbing the remote before making himself comfortable.

"Temptation Lane?"

"Sure," she smiled before stretching out along the couch, her feet landing to rest on his lap. He looked down at her for a moment, wanting so badly to question why she was there hanging out with him near three in the morning, but he knew better.

It was better not to ask and not know, than to ask and have her leave.


	3. Chapter 3

Notes: Part 3, me.

Disclaimer: Still don't own them. Bummer.

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><p>After about five minutes of silence she looked over to make sure he wasn't asleep, and locked eyes with him.<p>

"I'm glad she called you. I'm sorry she woke you up, but I'm _so_ glad she called you. God, I smelled the beer on her, and my brain just exploded with every single worst possible scenario ever."

"I'm glad she called me too, but I have to ask... Just how bad was this fight? I mean, I know that it has to be huge. She snuck out, and got drunk, but it's more than just where the school is isn't it?"

"It... it started with the college. Then it just overflowed into every little nit pick we could think of. Chernobyl wasn't nearly as bad as this was. I'm a horrible person, and a horrible father."

"You're a wonderful father. Why don't I have 700 missed calls from you?"

"I was about to call when you came in. I'd been writing, and I went to check on her. She was gone. I panicked over her, and then I panicked over waking you and Josh up."

Kate snorted. "Pro tip: When your best friend is a cop, don't worry about bothering them when your child turns up missing."

"I'll keep that piece of information tucked away for a rainy day." He ran his hands through his hair and let them fall back to his side. His right hand landed on her socked foot. "Thank you for going to her," he whispered, picking idly at imaginary balls of lint on her sock.

"Anytime. I told you I would look out for her, and I meant it." She pulled her foot away from him, and shifted down the couch until she was sitting shoulder to shoulder with him. "Besides, I should be thanking her."

"For what?" His brow furrowed as he looked at her.

"She... facilitated, albeit unknowingly, a... Josh picked the wrong fight with me. He's gone, for good."

"Woah, woah, woah. Slow your roll and back that train up. He broke up with you?" He held a hand up mimicking a stop sign.

"Yeah, among other things, but mostly because I refused to choose him over Alexis."

"Wow... Now I feel really bad for being such an ass to my own child. I'm sorry. I know you guys were trying to make it work."

"We were just staving off the inevitable. I don't think it would've been a problem if Alexis belonged to say... Lanie."

"He's a moron."

"Tell me about it," she teased.

"Well, he broke up with you. He willingly spent time away from you. He has horrible taste in movies," he started, ticking each point off on his finger tips, "He has issues with my perfect child. He doesn't like Remy's. He broke up with you. He drives too fast. He cancelled dates with you. He left a country knowing you were still in it. He broke up with you..."

"Rick," she cut him off, "You've mentioned that he broke up with me like three times. Quit reaching."

"I can move on to the stupid things about him if you like. You know, his floppy hair, his big ears..." he drifted off when noticed her glare.

She shook her head and the glare morphed into a smile. "Thank you, I needed that."

"I'm always going to try and make you smile if I can," he admitted honestly.

"There you go using that word again." She dropped her head to his shoulder and focused on the TV screen.

"Which word is that, Kate?"

"Always."


	4. Chapter 4

Notes: Cassie's!

Disclaimer: We don't own Castle.

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><p>Alexis groaned, throwing the covers off of her and pushing herself into a sitting position. The room felt like it was spinning, her mouth dry as cotton. The taste left in it from her adventures last night could possibly be the worst taste she had ever experienced.<p>

"Alcohol's stupid," she muttered to no one but herself as she grabbed the glass of water.

After taking a small sip, she retrieved the pills and swallowed them quickly. The headache reigning terror on her head made her thankful that Kate had suggested this before she had went to bed.

"Kate," she sighed as she put the water down and pushed herself out of bed.

She couldn't believe that she had called the detective at two in the morning to help her. She should've just sucked it up and called her dad, he could've helped her just the same. Feeling the churning of her stomach, she forced herself out of the bedroom and down the hall. She needed to get something on her empty, alcohol tainted stomach.

"Stupid alcohol. Stupid Paige. Stupid fight. Stupid college." She continued to mumble under her breath as she made her way down the stairs, hurrying to the kitchen.

It wasn't until she had gotten a piece of bread from the kitchen that she heard soft mumblings. Confusion filled her as she made her way quietly to the living room. Dad never slept on the couch - unless he was having problems writing.

Surprise hit her like a truck when she came around to find Kate and her dad cuddled up together on the couch. His arm was draped over her waist, holding her tightly to his chest. As quickly as surprise had hit her, joy hit her as well as she danced in spot.

"Oh. My. God," she whispered under her breath as she looked around before grabbing her dad's phone. She quickly took a few different pictures of the two, sending them to her own phone before placing the device back down and studying the two for a moment.

"Lex?"

The detective's sleepy voice drifted up from the couch, confusion lacing the name.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"N-no, what time is it?"

"About six. I woke up with a killer headache."

"I can.." Alexis watched as Kate's eyes widened and she seemed to realize exactly where she was. "Crap."

"Please don't freak out," Alexis pleaded quietly. "I know he's a pain in the butt but he's a pain in the butt that cares about you."

Kate sighed as Rick started to move beside her, signaling that he was about to wake up. The detective's eyes widened as she looked from the sleeping man beside her to his daughter.

"Alexis, can you go..." She nodded towards the stairs, asking with her eyes and body language for her to do as she was asked.

"Sure, don't leave without coming to say bye though."

When Kate nodded in agreement, Alexis hurried towards the stairs. She knew that this would be difficult enough with how Kate was, and she didn't want to ruin it. She just hoped everything would go smoothly.


	5. Chapter 5

Notes: Me.

Disclaimer: Not ours.

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><p>"I'm not dead yet."<p>

"I'm not planning on killing you. Provided you let me go right now."

Castle complied and put a little more space between them by scooting down the couch a little. He looked over at her. "My hands didn't get any wander lust did they?"

"No," she answered curling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on top.

"In the fresh light of day, are you still freaked out by what I said?" He figured he was in the clear, because if she was going to run, she wouldn't still be here right now. She would've bolted at 3:45 when he explained 'always' to her.

"Oddly enough, no, but that might have a lot to do with how tired I am. Freaking out requires too much energy," she sighed and angled her head to look at him.

"I'm sorry for doing that to you. That's like the number one rule or something isn't it for guy friends? Don't hit on the girl after she tells you about her break-up."

"I wouldn't call that being hit on. I'd call it a confession of undying love," she smirked.

"Yeah," he drawled as he rolled his eyes and covered his face with his hands. "Unrequited and undying love."

"I don't think I ever once said it was unrequited, Mr. Drama Queen."

"Pretty brunette detective on my couch say what?" With the speed his head whipped toward her she was sure he'd gotten whiplash.

"And Lanie accuses me of being the dense one." She inched toward him and took his hand. "I can't do this right now. I need a little bit of time to heal, but it's not an unrequited love Rick. It's the most terrifying thing I've ever felt it's so not unrequited."

"Wow." He squeezed her hand. "So, what do I need to do? Stay home and work on this book? Keep following you around like a baby duck? Go thank Josh for being an asshole? Get you some coffee?"

"The last thing, definitely the last thing," she answered, perking up.

"You got it," he grinned. He gently pulled his hand away and went to the coffee maker in his kitchen.

"Give me two months." She bit back a laugh when jumped.

"Ninja! How did you get that close to me without me hearing it?" He whirled around to face her.

"Same way I picked your pocket?" she teased crossing her arms in front of her.

"Two months?"

"Give me time to get rid of him completely."

"Done. Can I ask you for one little thing though?"


	6. Chapter 6

Notes: Cassie. Catching the pattern?

Disclaimer: Not ours.

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><p>She stared at him, the cup of coffee warming her hands as her mind spun wildly. She had known these feelings between them were there, but she had tried her hardest to fight them.<p>

"That's all?"

Her eyebrow quirked up, moving to rest her hip against the counter as he shadowed her movement across from her.

"That's it," he nodded.

"So, no running. No getting scared. Not without talking to you first."

"I know how you are, Kate. I don't want to lose you because something scares you or you feel trapped. If you talk to me first, I can bring you back."

The honesty in his voice had her throat closing up, forcing her to look away and take a sip of her coffee. She was sure that this man wold be the death of her, hands down.

"Okay, I'll talk to you first."

"You will?" His eyes shot open in surprise as toast popped up, causing them both to jump. He refused to take his eyes off of her though, waiting for her to repeat what she had said.

"I will. Promise."

"Good," he grinned and turned away from her finally, going to the toaster. He pulled the toast out and put them on the plate he had retrieved earlier, buttering the bread before moving back to stand in front of Kate.

"Thanks," she said quietly as she took a piece of toast. "What are you going to do about Alexis?"

"Right. That." He sighed and rubbed his temple. "I don't know. It was as much of my fault as it was hers."

"Maybe you two should just talk and don't worry about the punishment part right now. She was upset and angry when she left last night, otherwise we both know she wouldn't have done it."

"She wouldn't have if I had just dropped it," he moved around the counter to fall onto the barstool. "I'm the reason my daughter had her first alcohol experience."

"Rick," she shook her head and followed him to sit beside him. Placing her hand on top of his, she gave it a quick squeeze. "You got in a fight. It happens. Trust me."

He did trust her, so much more than she would ever believe at the moment. Instead of telling her this, though, he nodded and looked at the kitchen sink. Silence fell between them for a while, neither bothered enough to try to fill it.

"I should go so you two can talk," Kate stood up after she finished her toast and coffee, keeping her eyes away from his.

"You sure?" His voice was far off, letting her know that he was thinking.

"Yeah, I just need to run up and tell Lex bye. I'll see you at work tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." He gave her a smile as she headed for the stairs.


	7. Chapter 7

Notes: Me.

Disclaimer: We really don't own Castle.

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><p>The two weeks after her break-up with Doctor Motorcycle Boy passed without so much as a twist in any of the bodies that dropped. A whole series of Jack-shot-Jill-over-Bills. Kate was ready to pull her hair out from the sheer boredom of it all. She had picked over every square inch of her apartment and packed up all of the little things he had left behind. She'd dropped that off at the hospital the night before.<p>

"Talk to me, girl." Lanie dropped into Castle's seat, and sat a bag of Chinese food on the desk. "Care of Writer Boy."

Kate rolled her eyes. "What are we talking about?"

Lanie gave her THAT look. The one that says 'You of all people know better than to pull that shit with me.'

Kate sighed. "Josh and I broke up a couple weeks ago."

"I am just finding out about this why?"

She poked around in the bag looking at what he sent up. "I didn't want to talk about it."

"And yet," Lanie started with a hand wave, "Castle knows. Am I being replaced?"

"The only reason he knows, is because Josh ended it over Alexis. She called me needing help, and I went to her. I don't think it would've been a problem if it was your kid calling me."

"And the reason Writer Boy drops off this bag of food with me would be?"

"His attempt at helping me deal with it?" Kate pulls a carton and a fork from the bag.

"Boy has it bad for you, girl." Lanie shook her head and raided the bag.

"I know. I think he's just trying to get the next month-and-a-half over with faster," she replied after eating a bite of the Lo Mein.

"What happens then?" Lanie asked before biting into an egg roll.

"I agreed to go out on a date with him," Kate replied casually, "for the foreseeable future."

"Excuse me?" Lanie asked, not caring at all how rude it was to speak with your mouth full.

"We had that talk, Lanie. That one you've been pushing us to have. I told him to give me two months to get past Josh."

"Oh girl," Lanie answered after she swallowed, "you have it worse than I thought you did."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Javier has Bugs Bunny tattooed on his left ass cheek."

Kate spit her noodles out. "I did not know that, and I definitely did not need to know that. Remind me never to pose rhetorical questions to you ever again."

"Hey, you asked girl," Lanie grinned before snagging a few napkins from the bag for her friend.


	8. Chapter 8

Notes: Cassssssssiiiiieeeee.

Disclaimer: Yes, yes we totally own Castle, but only for this chapter. -.- Guys.

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><p>"Have you talked to her yet?"<p>

Rick frowned and looked around him, making sure no one was around to hear the conversation that was about to happen.

"No, Alexis. I told you, she needs time."

"Well, if you ask me she's had enough time since Doctor Douchebag dumped her."

"Language, young lady."

He heard the sigh on the other end of the phone and knew that his daughter was rolling her eyes at him.

"Sorry, Dad, but what he did was wrong and I feel horrible about it."

"Don't. Kate assured me it was going to happen any way. You just.. helped the process along."

His words sounded empty even to him and he knew that Alexis wasn't about to take comfort from them. Rubbing his forehead, he leaned against the stairwell wall.

"I still don't like that it happened that way," she mumbled quietly.

"I know you don't, but try not to think about it. Okay?"

"Sure, sure." There was some sort of noise in the background before a loud thump and a squeal from Alexis. "Crap, gotta go dad. Grams just knocked over all of my homework. See you at dinner?"

"Yeah, pumpkin. I'll be there for dinner. Love you."

"Love you too," she rambled quickly before ending the phone call, obviously in a hurry.

Trying to take some comfort from the fact that there was no real case and that he could go home for dinner, Rick pushed away from the wall and started down the stairs. He knew that Kate would want coffee by the time he came back and he felt like getting some air.

"Starbucks, here I come," he muttered to himself, trying hard not to think about the brunette detective sitting up at her desk.


	9. Chapter 9

Notes: Me.

Disclaimer: Le not ours.

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><p>Kate glanced over at the hot cup of coffee sitting on her desk. It wasn't there a few minutes ago. She bit her bottom lip, the paperwork could wait right? Of course it can. She dropped her pen and gratefully wrapped both hands around the cup. "Thanks, Castle."<p>

"You're welcome, Detective." He watched her take that ever important first sip, and found himself memorizing the twitches and movements her neck and jaw made as she swallowed the drink.

"Something you're not telling me, Castle? Are you a member of the undead?"

"Huh?" His eyes shot up to lock with hers. He grappled with his vocabulary and her ability to make him lose it for several moments, before finally settling on a dejected, "I was being creepy wasn't I?"

"Just a bit," she teased. She placed the coffee on her desk and lowered her voice, "What's up, Castle?"

"I need you to come over and talk to Alexis. I think she's blaming herself for the break up."

"You sure this isn't just a ploy to have me join you for dinner?"

"Kate."

"Okay, yeah. I've got a couple more pages here to finish, and then we can go."

"Thanks," Castle mumbled as he leaned back in his chair to mull over the last month.

She powered through the last few pages, and tucked them neatly into the blue folder on her desk. "I'm going to go tell Montgomery I'm taking off," she told him, quietly, before standing up and heading towards the glassed in office. She was back a few moments later, and slipping her coat on.

"We got a body?" Ryan asked quickening his pace as he approached them.

"Nope, I'm just leaving early. Dinner plans," she waved him off with the explanation.

"Can you... excuse me for just a minute?" Ryan ran over to the window and searched the sky. He calmly walked back over to his boss. "Pigs aren't flying, and I can't tell if Hell froze over or not from up here. What gives?"

"Believe it or not, Irish, I do know what priorities are, and I can occasionally put them in the right order," she teased before pulling her desk drawer open to grab her purse.

"Right, and I'm going to be a saint when I grow up."

"You already are. You put with Esposito." Kate winked at him and made her way out of the bullpen. Castle trailed after her.

She cut left toward the stairs and pushed through the door.

"We taking the stairs, today De-" Castle was cut off when she pushed him back against the door and kissed him, hard.


	10. Chapter 10

Notes: Cassie.

Disclaimer: Not ours.

* * *

><p>"Don't," she warned him.<p>

His mouth snapped shut immediately as he stared dejectedly out of the windshield. He had been trying to ask her about what had happened in the stairwell since they had pulled apart about twenty minutes ago - with no luck on an answer.

"But-"

"No, Castle. Just.. don't."

Rick glanced at her for a moment and knew by the look on her face that if he pushed her now she would lock up like a vault. A vault with laser beams and movement sensors and top of the line security cameras.

So, for now, he stayed quiet.

It wasn't an easy thing for him to do - he was, after all, Rick Castle. Talking came to him like a second nature, just like his writing did. His over active imagination and ability to still be child-like only fueled this. Not talking could, quite possibly, be one of his worst qualities.

"You're going to explode if you don't talk," she shot quickly in his direction. "Your face is turning red."

He let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in, shifting in his seat so he could look at her more comfortably.

"You're making this very.. difficult, you know that right?"

"I'm not trying to," she muttered back like a sulking child.

"I'm just saying - you can't push a man up against a door and kiss him until he's ready to drop and then not talk about it.. cause, that is something that needs to be talked about."

"Rick, please."

He sighed, crossing his arms - he knew that she had him with the first name. Closing his eyes for a moment, he simply nodded and turned back to look out at the buildings as they passed by. A change of subject was needed.

"Alexis is blaming herself for your break up with Doctor Douc-" He cut himself off quickly, cursing his daughter for getting the nickname stuck. "With Josh and you."

"Did you just start to call him a douche?" She asked with a smile in her voice.

"Alexis' fault. It's her nickname!" He defended himself.

"Right," Kate grinned at him and shook her head.

"Don't believe me, but it's the truth."

"I guess I'll just have to ask her and see," she mumbled as she pulled up in front of his building.


	11. Chapter 11

Notes: Me.

* * *

><p>"I guess you will."<p>

Kate put the car in park and cut the engine. "She calls him Doctor Douche?"

"Douchebag, actually."

Kate turned to look at him, her somber mood had been somewhat replaced by amusement, and her lilting tone conveyed that, "He is kind of a douchebag. Can't fault her for that."

"What aren't you telling me, Kate?"

"I kissed you, because Josh has been calling me everyday, multiple times a day. Trying to apologize. To undo it. I don't know how my frustration with him turned into me kissing you, but it did."

"If that is how you choose to take out your frustrations on men... I can't wait for our first fight," he teased. "Do we need to sic Lanie on him? I'd offer, but I'm actually a little scared of the guy."

"Hardly, I told him he'd made his choice, and that if he called me again I would have harassment charges filed. It pays to be a cop, you know," she offered with a light chuckle.

"I can't blame him for trying to win you back, though. Not that I will ever be stupid enough to let you go, but if it happened, I would fight my way through Hell in pants made of gasoline to get you back."

Kate slid her hand over the console to rest on top of his. She smiled when he turned his hand over and laced his fingers through hers. "That's..." She was cut off by a pounding on her window.

"Open the door, Kate!" Josh demanded, he only stopped pounding when her head swung around.

Beckett gave his hand a quick squeeze, and flicked the lock button on the door. "Just go inside."

"No way, KB. I'm not leaving you out here alone."

"Okay," she nodded and handed him the keys. "Just don't be stupid." She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door. Josh waited impatiently by the back door.

"Same goes for you," he answered as he opened his own door and climbed out.

Kate sighed and swung her legs out. Josh offered a hand to help her out, but she ignored the hand and used the door for leverage. She steeled her body and her voice in front of him. "What?"

Josh glanced over her head at Castle who had moved around to stand behind her. "You can go inside."

"No. Not without her."

Josh pursed his lips and took a calming breath, "It wasn't a choice. I'd like to talk to my girlfriend in private."

"I'm not your girlfriend. You made that abundantly clear. I don't think we have anything left to discuss either."

"Dammit, Kate. Come on. You expect me not to realize how big of an asshole I was? How am I supposed to be a decent guy when you don't tell me..." he stopped short and glanced at Castle. He dropped his voice to a whisper, "that she was murdered."

"You finally told him?" Rick's eyes widened at the back of her head.

"He knows? You can tell him, but the only way I find out is as you are throwing me out the door?"

"Yes, he knows. He was there when her case got opened back up." She left out the part where it was Castle who had opened it. "All you had to do was ask, but you didn't want to know. You didn't want to know anything about how dark my past is."

Josh brought his hand down hard on the top of her car, and Castle instinctively pulled her backwards. "You never gave me a chance!"

"You were the rebound guy, what did you expect, Josh?" She shrugged Castle's hand off of her arm, but made no effort to put any distance between them, his tug had brought her flush against his chest.

"I think you're nuts. Certifiable." Josh grabbed his helmet off the edge of his bike and slid it over his head. He sat down and started the engine "I can't fix your heart again, Kate," he yelled over the roar of his bike. With a final smack he knocked the visor down on the helmet, and pulled into traffic.

"You're staying for dinner," Castle told her, his tone left no room for arguing.

"What are we having?" She gave him a half-hearted smile and walked toward the doors.


	12. Chapter 12

Notes: Cassie.

* * *

><p>"He's insane."<p>

"From the looks of it, yeah." Kate nodded as the elevator doors opened up to let them out. She stepped into the hallway, feeling him close behind her.

"I mean, he didn't even look before he pulled out in front of that taxi. He could have been hit."

"It would have been his fault."

"Exactly how bad has he been bothering you, Kate?"

She glanced at him, his face so serious that it made her heart swell. She sighed, moving her eyes to rest on her feet as she waited patiently for him to unlock the door.

"He's been by my apartment once or twice over the past two weeks. I told my doorman not to let him in anymore. If he comes back, security is to call the cops."

"You could always stay here," he offered as he held the door open for her.

"I can hear the rumors already," she muttered dryly, entering his loft. "Thanks but no thanks, Castle."

"The rumors wouldn't be anything we haven't heard before." He gave her his charming grin as he wiggled his eyebrows and closed the door behind him.

"I'd like to keep the rumors at bay until we actually give them something to talk about, okay?"

"Fine, fine." He made a face at her before turning away, heading for the kitchen.

"You're such a child sometimes," she joked as she followed him, sitting down on a bar stool.

Instead of answering her, he simply shot her a look before facing towards the stairs. "Alexis! I'm home."

A moment later, stomping from the teenager's feet came from the stairs as she slid to a stop in front of him - not noticing Kate.

"Doctor Douchebag was here, and he was looking for Kate. I wouldn't open the door, but he seemed pretty pissed." She looked around the kitchen when her dad's darted to the detective, her own eyes widening as she realized what she had called Josh. "Oops, sorry, Kate. I didn't see you there."


	13. Chapter 13

Me.

* * *

><p>"He tried to come up?"<p>

"Um, yeah. Look, about the nickname... I'm really sorry..."

Kate waved her off. "It's fitting. Don't worry about it."

Alexis fidgeted by the stairs.

"It's not your fault, Alexis. It would've happened if my Dad had called needing rescuing. You know that right? That I don't blame you?"

"But... he broke up with you because of me."

"Alexis, we should've broken up months ago. We just kept putting it off, and putting it off. It's not your fault that the relationship finally ended. Okay?"

"I still feel bad about it."

"And it's well within your right to feel however you want to feel about it, but me? I'm just gonna say thank you. Thank you."

Alexis' face contorted into confusion. "You are THANKING me for causing a fight that ended a relationship?"

"Yes, since you seem to refuse to believe that you aren't at fault, I'm going to spin your logic around on you."

She squinted at the detective. "I see what you did there. Very smooth. Are you staying for dinner?"

"Yeah," Kate smiled, "but I need to go call Esposito." Kate excused herself and went to Castle's office to call her friend.

"Yo, Boss, what's up?"

"I need you and Ryan to go have a brotherly talk with Josh. Pestering me is one thing, but he bothered Alexis today. Tried to get her to let him in."

"That's not cool, we got your back. Oh, hey here's Ryan... Later." Kate heard him say, 'Doctor Douchebag alert,' before he ended the call, and she just smiled at the phone.

She joined the two Castle's in the kitchen to help them make dinner, a task that involved picking out what she wanted on the pizza.


	14. Chapter 14

C A S S I E.

* * *

><p>"You had the dream team come talk to me? Really, Kate?"<p>

His voice assaulted her ears as soon as she stepped out of her car, making her wish she had taken Castle's offer to stay at his place for the night.

"Josh," she sighed while closing the door and heading for the elevator. "You scared Alexis. She thought you were drunk."

"So because I upset the pesky little brat I had two cops show up at my work and basically interrogate me?"

She stopped quickly, turning on him and jamming a finger to his chest. "First of all, she is not a pesky little brat. She's more mature than probably two of you. And she had every right to be scared when a man she only knows by association shows up to her home and starts banging on the door."

"Is that where you've been all this time? At his apartment?" The question came out like poison, dripping acid everywhere.

"I was at a friend's house having dinner," she stepped back from him, putting her hands up. "It's not any of your business what I do or don't do anymore, Josh. We broke up."

"Yeah," he growled slightly as he stepped closer to her. "Because that pesky littl-"

"No," she cut him off loudly, advancing on him. "You stop right there before I pull my gun out and make you wish you would have listened earlier. Leave. Me. Alone. I do not want to see you or hear from you, ever again."

"So, just like that.. We're done? All because of some child?"

"No, we're done because you're a douchebag." She rolled her eyes and turned away from him, heading for the elevator once again. "And do not go back to Castle's, or we'll have you arrested for harassment."

"He's going to hurt you again, Kate," he called after her. "And I won't be there to pick up the pieces this time."

As she stepped into the elevator and faced him, she gave him a tight smile. "I'm a big girl. I can handle myself."

Without another moment, the elevator doors closed and cut off communication between the two.


	15. Chapter 15

Me.

* * *

><p>Every night of that following week Castle insisted that she join them for dinner, for his own peace of mind; she'd let it slip that Josh had confronted her again. The first night Alexis had made dinner, a chicken recipe she'd found while marathoning episodes of Iron Chef. The second night Castle had made a seafood alfredo. The third night Martha joined them, and she and Castle had treated Kate to dinner, beef enchiladas with red sauce, and a show, their banter and dramatic flairs. The fourth night Alexis roped Kate into helping her make meatloaf. The fifth night the three of them settled on ordering in Chinese. The sixth night Castle made a garlic chicken; he'd used too much garlic and the meal was barely edible. The seventh night Kate dropped their dinner off that morning before heading into the precinct, a casserole that her mother used to make for her birthday.<p>

"Kate, this is really good!" Alexis exclaimed after a bite. "The broccoli is perfectly cooked, and the sauce over the chicken and rice is divine. Dad, I think my favorite meal just got replaced."

Kate blushed. "Thanks, Lex. It was always one of my favorites, and my mom got tired of me always asking for it during college so she taught me how to make it. I haven't had it in a while, and I thought it would be a good way to thank you all for putting up with me."

"You're not a burden, besides I should be thanking you for putting up with him," Alexis teased shooting a look to her Dad.

"He's... I am going to regret this: he's not actually not that much trouble. He's a good guy."

"Be still my beating heart... was that a compliment that the incomparable Katherine Beckett just paid, me?"

"Dad, be nice! You know it'll never happen again."

"Exactly!" Kate agreed with a laugh.

"Ganging up on me already... I see how it is. Just for that, no dessert for either of you," Castle huffed before scooping up another bite of his dinner.

The girls laughed at him, and they all settled back into the light conversation that had become the norm over their nightly dinners. Come dessert time, Castle dutifully cleared the table and brought each of them back a slice of chocolate roulade with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. "I couldn't deny you lovely ladies chocolate."

"Hmm... Kate, I think he's buttering us up." Alexis cut a big bite out of the cake and speared it with her fork.

"I think we should let him."

"I'm glad that the two of you can bond so well over mocking me." He stuck his tongue out at them and went back for his own dessert.

"Mocking? Castle, really? We're not mocking you, it's just some light teasing. You can dish it out, but you just can't take it, can you?"

"Oh, I can take it! I can take whatever you dish out, Kate."

"Right, I'm sure," she teased and twirled her spoon in the ice cream.

"Do you guys want me to leave so you can make out now? Seriously, I could cut it with a knife."


	16. Chapter 16

Cassie.

* * *

><p>"I'm not one to complain..."<p>

Kate shot him a look, causing him to sigh and roll his eyes.

"Okay, so maybe I am but..." he groaned and made like he was going to pull his hair out. "We kissed. We flat out kissed, like a couple of teenagers, in the stairwell and I can not get that image out of my head."

"Rick," she said quietly as she glanced around the precinct.

"No, no." He held his hands up and gave her a small smile. "It's okay. Sorry. Not something I bring up here, got it."

She gave him a tight smile, fighting the urge to reach over and give his hand a squeeze. She knew this was hard for him and she knew what it was taking to do this. She was just glad he understood.

"I'm sorry," she murmured quietly as Esposito walked in, giving him no chance to respond.

"Lanie wants you, pronto."

"What for?" She quirked her eyebrow up, her breathing stopping as she waited.

"Something about Writer Man, kissing, and stairwells." He shrugged and glanced at Rick. "I wouldn't even attempt to go down there man. She's a beast."

"Javier, I heard that." Lanie strode up next to the three, glaring at her not-so-secret boyfriend.

"Oh, h-hi." He gave her a quick smile before looking at Kate and Rick. "Good luck," he muttered quickly before going to his own desk.

"What's up, Lanie?" Kate asked with a innocent smile.

"Oh, don't give me that look, Katherine Beckett." When she noticed Castle smirking, she smacked his shoulder. "You either, Richard Castle. Break room. Now. Both of you."

They both sighed but got up, knowing that Lanie was probably one of the only people who could kill them and get away with it.

As they entered the break room, they turned around in time to see Lanie shutting the door and pulling the blinds closed.

"You two, I can't believe you two. Especially you," she huffed, motioning to Kate who frowned at her.

"Can't believe what, Lanie?"

"Making out in the stairwell like a couple of teenagers?"

Immediately Kate's eyes were on Rick, giving him a glare.

"What?" he squeaked innocently. "I didn't tell anyone!"

"No, he didn't. And neither did you, Kate. I had to find out from some random cop! Who just so happened to be in the stairwell at the time or else I probably wouldn't know now."

"Lanie, we weren't keeping it from you.. We didn't tell anyone," the brunette sighed as she sunk down onto a chair. "I was annoyed with Josh and somehow ended up taking it out on Castle."

"Not that I minded," Rick muttered, earning a glare from both of the women. "What? I'm a man. No sane man is going to mind."

Kate rolled her eyes at him before turning her attention to Lanie. "I was going to tell you when I had it all figured out, I promise."

The medical examiner stared at her hard for a minute before sighing and rolling her eyes. "I can't stay mad at you," she muttered before sinking down into her own chair.

"Cause you love me," Kate smirked.

"Right." Lanie rubbed her temple before looking between the two. "You really need to just get each other into bed. Much less drama."

"Lanie!" Kate scolded her friend, ignoring the chuckles from the man behind her.


	17. Chapter 17

"Don't even start with me, because even though I'm not mad at you, the very least you could've done was told me a week ago that things were changing."

"I'm jus gonna go... over there..." Castle gestured toward the bull pen and took off toward Ryan's empty desk.

"Okay, things are changing. Yes. Slowly, but they're changing."

"And this thing I've been hearing about you leaving at a decent hour every night this week?" Lanie looked up and gave Kate a pointed look.

"Dinner. I've been trying this new thing called eating regularly. I thought you'd be proud."

"Dodging."

"I told Castle that Josh tried to talk to me again, and he insisted that I have dinner with them," Kate admitted quietly.

"So you're not only dating Castle, but his family too?"

"Lanie!"

"You are," Lanie shot back.

"Would you say that a little louder next time? Please?" Kate slammed the break room door shut.

"So you admit it... If I had known before now, that all it took to get you to go after him was to play dumb we could've saved everyone here a lot of time and heartbreak."

"Lanie, I really don't want to fuck this up, so just drop it okay?" Kate dropped down into a chair at one end of the table rested her forehead on her folded arms.

"I won't say another word until you want to talk about it then. I don't want you to fuck it up even more than you don't. Do... Whatever, you know what I mean."

"Thanks," Kate mumbled into the table.

"What do you say we go get lunch, and I fill you in on how big of an idiot our boy Espo is?"

Kate peeked up at her. "Chicken tacos?"

"Girl, would I allow anything heavier for me telling you things you don't want to hear?" Lanie gave her a mischievous grin.

"Ugh, don't make me change my mind," Kate teased getting up.

"Is Castle gonna follow us?"

"Lanie..." Kate warned.

"Girl, dating his family or not, he goes where you go. Do we need to feed him some bullshit lie, or can he be trusted to stay here and play nicely with the boys?"

Beckett just rolled her eyes and went to go grab her coat. With a quick word to the boys about her lunch plans she met Lanie at the elevator and they headed off for gossip and hot sauce.

"Yo, Castle," Esposito called from his desk, "Poker?"

"What are we playing for?"

"Secrets," Esposito replied cooly, getting the deck of cards out to give them a shuffle.

Karpowski stopped by his desk, and dropped a folder on it. "You guys are worse about gossip than little old ladies, you know that right?"

"You in or out, Karpowski?" Esposito paused at his deal and looked up at her challengingly.

"I'm in." She drug a chair over and the four of them circled Esposito's desk.


	18. Chapter 18

Cassie.

* * *

><p>"No way. That would have been all over the tabloids." Esposito shook his head, taking a drink of his coffee.<p>

"Yes way," Castle laughed as he shuffled the cards quickly, not even blinking when the elevator dinged and Beckett stepped off. "Alexis was about six at the time and she had ran out into the hallway to go find the pool. I was butt naked trying to get into my swimming trunks. Without even thinking I hurried out into the hallway only to have Alexis slip back into the room without me and lock me out."

"How did this not find its way onto the front page?" Ryan chuckled, making a face as he folded his cards down onto the desk.

"Castle got the first star-struck woman he could find to give him a towel before he went back to his room to bargain with Alexis to let him back in," Beckett supplied casually, walking around them to head for her desk.

"You told Beckett this story?" Esposito smirked, throwing Ryan a look.

"Tell them what Alexis ended up getting out of you, Castle." A smile played on Beckett's lips as she sunk down into her own chair.

"Oh. No. I don't think so." He shook his head and discarded the cards, quickly moving away from the desk and heading for the break room.

"Come on, bro, it can't be that bad." Esposito followed the writer, shortly followed by Ryan.

"Yeah, Castle. Come on. You told Beckett."

"I didn't tell her that part! She turned my daughter against me and had her spilling secrets." Castle frowned as he occupied himself with fixing two cups of coffee.

The two partners turned to each other immediately, their faces lighting up - something Castle missed, as he had his back turned to them.

"Little Castle!" they both exclaimed at the same time, before hurriedly exiting the break room and heading for their desks.

Upon hearing this, Castle dropped the creamer he had been holding and scurried after them. He could not let them get ahold of Alexis. It would all be over from there.

"No! Guys. Don't call her. She's in school, busy getting her education on. She doesn't need a couple of over-grown monkeys calling her with questions about her dad's past."

His eyes flashed to Beckett quickly, eyeing her like she was the devil and he was her play thing. Leave it to her to get him in a mess like this. Letting out a exhausted breath, his shoulders slumped.

"She made me take ballet classes with her," he muttered, turning quickly and hurrying back to the break room.

He would catch hell for this.


	19. Chapter 19

Splitting the last parts up.

* * *

><p>"You know, Castle, that's actually a pretty cavalier attitude. Alexis is lucky to have you," Ryan mused and nodded. "If we ever have a little girl who's into that, I'd go to ballet with her."<p>

"You are so whipped, dude. You're really going to let him have that one? The man did ballet." Esposito made a move for the break room, intent on getting in a little more ribbing before his lunch break was officially over.

"Javier Esposito." Kate's tone was bordering on icy.

He froze and slowly turned to face Beckett.

"If you take another step I will tell the entire floor about Bugs."

"She told you? Esa mujer será la muerte de mí." Esposito slunk off to his desk.

"Tell me!" Ryan scurried over to her desk and dropped in Castle's chair.

Karpowski just shook her head. "What did I tell you boys earlier? Biddies at the beauty shop. That's all you three are."

"Right, says the woman who..." he trailed off as he tried to remember exactly what secrets she'd been forced to reveal.

"Maybe you three should be better poker players," she shot back saucily, before heading to her own desk. She paused and looked back at Ryan. "You're gonna make a great father though. Hard-Head over there, I don't know, but you got it in you Irish."

"Thanks," he smiled sheepishly.

"I'm not telling you about Bugs. Go finish your paperwork."

"Nah, I don't care about his ass-tat. Dude's a sharer when you get him too drunk."

Kate smirked and kept writing.

"Josh still bothering you?" Ryan leaned forward to have another much-shorter-big-brother talk.

"No, Kevin, he's not." She put her pen down and leaned back. "You two did a good job."

"Not what I meant."

"What did you mean then?" She quirked a brow at him.

"You're over him, and I just can't figure out a reason for you to still have your shadow at arm's length, you know, other than Josh still being a douche."

She yanked open a desk drawer and pulled out her stash of Skittles. Mulling over her answer to that, she twirled her finger in the bowl. She finally settled on chucking a green one at his head and giving him an affectionate grin. "Get back to work, Ryan."

"Whatever you say, Boss. Whatever. You. Say." He snagged a handful from the bowl and wandered over to the break room to tell Castle it was safe.

"They're not gonna razz me over that?" Castle asked quietly, sinking into his seat.

"Esposito might try, but that's what he does. No one else is going to say two words about you going to ballet though."

"Promise?" He was legitimately worried.

"Cas- Rick, you adore Alexis, and while, yes, ballet is not the most masculine thing you've ever done, you did it for her. You would've gone with her even if she hadn't locked you out of the room," she whispered, laying a gentle hand on his knee and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "That's not even the worst of the dirt though, and you know it."

"Oh yeah, I had the foresight to not tell them about the thing with the go-karts."

The look in her eyes was predatory. "What thing with the go-karts?"


	20. Chapter 20

Me

* * *

><p>"They just need to go ahead and get it over with."<p>

"I know, right? We thought it was bad before. The tension between them could smother a small person."

"Oh, that's a nice metaphor." Esposito snorted, throwing away his now empty coffee cup.

"Shut up! Their tension is clouding my thinking abilities." Ryan frowned, rubbing at his temple.

"What abilities?" Beckett grinned as she popped up beside their desks, looking at them with a raised eyebrow.

"Ouch," Espsotio mumbled.

"How long have you been standing there exactly?" Ryan's voice tightened with the last word as he fought to keep his face clear of emotion.

"Long enough. Don't you two have other stuff to do besides gossip like a couple of teenage girls? Or should I find you some good old fashioned paper work?"

She watched for a moment as the younger detective stuttered to answer her before patting him on the head like a small child.

"Don't hurt yourself, Ryan." She shot a look at Esposito before crossing to her desk and falling into her chair.

"Wait. Where's your shadow? You two have been coming in at the same time all week." Esposito frowned, checking the elevator to make sure he hadn't missed the writer.

"He'll be up in a minute," she smirked as she settled back into her chair.

"Richard Castle, if you hurt her..." Lanie pointed the scalpel in her hand towards the writer with a dangerous look.

"Lanie," her name was a sigh as he scrambled backwards, away from the sharp object she was wielding. "I'm not going to hurt her. I know what she's like when something bad happens to her, I would never do that."

"You better not. Or else." She jabbed the scalpel in his direction once more before returning to the body that she had abandoned momentarily.

"I won't," he promised with a small smile on his lips. "Can I go now? This place creeps me out."

"Sure," she laughed with a shake of her head. "Tell Javi I want some coffee, will ya?"

"Coffee. Okay. I can do that." He nodded and hurried out of the doors, afraid the medical examiner might try to get him to stay.

Castle stepped off the elevator and went straight over to Esposito's desk.

"Yo."

"Hey Javi,"Castle mimicked Lanie's voice, poorly, "Bring me some coffee."

"Bro, all you had to do was tell me." Esposito squinted at him and pushed away from his desk.

"More fun that way," Castle replied before heading over to his chair. "Your desk is sinking."

Kate lifted her head from her paperwork. "Excuse me?"

Castle lifted the stack of files from his seat, and took their place. "I think the paperwork is the iceberg and your desk the Titanic. These files must be those lucky folks who found a lifeboat."

"That was bad, even for you," she quipped, turning back to her paperwork with a smirk. "But, yes, the menial paper-pushing part of my life has begun. For the rest of the day my life is marking boxes, writing descriptions, and signing more dotted lines than you sign books in a year."

"Cute. Very cute, Detective," he teased, placing the stack of files neatly in his lap. "Dinner tonight?"

"Sure, is Alexis cooking?" Kate asked, meticulously working her way through the sheet in front of her.

"Alexis has a study group tonight. Mother is... I think she's with Lance Hastings in California. It would just be you and I."

"A date," she answered, laying her pen down and looking up at him. She was doing a horrible job at hiding the hopeful look in her eyes.

"I was thinking SPQR."

"Senatus Populusque Romanus. That's over on Mulberry Street isn't it?"

"So hot that you know a dead language, and yes it is."

"Latin isn't a dead language, Castle. It's immortal. What time?"

"Seven?" His voice came out in a squeak, she'd actually said yes to him.

"Sounds good." She picked her pen back up and started writing. It was six pages later when she spoke again. "Castle?"

"Yeah?" He'd been staring, unabashedly, the entire time.

"Can you hand me the Robbins file?"

He dug into the stack of files and pulled it out for her. "A. Robbins, there you go."

She shuffled the papers together, and neatly filed them after plucking the file from his waiting hand. "Put this at the bottom of the stack?" She slid the file to the edge of her desk, and started on the next round of paperwork.

"Sure." He dropped his stack on top of her file, and then picked them all back up.

She worked diligently while he played round after round of Angry Birds. The only time he paused was when she asked for a file. First C. Torres, then A. Montgomery, M. Grey, C. Yang, A. Karev, M. Bailey and finally the victim's file was all that was left. "Shepherd, hand it over."

He pocketed his phone and handed her the file. "Taking these down to records?"

"Yeah, then I'm going home." She left him sitting at her desk, and went to go tell the Captain she was done for the day.

"It's barely one," he informed her when she returned.

"I'm well aware of what time it is Castle, thank you." She tidied up her desk and shut her computer down.

"Remy's?" His question was coupled with one of his favorite gentlemanly actions, helping her into her coat.

"Really? Twice in one day?" She grabbed her purse from the bottom drawer and reached for the stack of files he'd picked back up.

"I like to push my luck, what do you say?" He pulled the files away and headed towards the stairs.

She followed after him and whacked his arm. "Fine," she answered, feigning annoyance.

"What are you doing?" Karpowski asked Ryan, who was watching Beckett and Castle ascend the staircase.

"I think she just agreed to go out on two dates with him... today."

Karpowski thumped the back of his head. "Keep that in the beauty shop, Ryan, and I'll split the pot with you."

"Done deal." He zipped his lips and sat back down at his desk.

Castle pulled her to a stop just outside of Remy's. "New plan."

"What? Why?" She looked at him quizzically. "You were dead set on Remy's the entire walk here."

"That was before I saw him, and honestly, I'd rather not have to sit through a meal with Dr. Douchebag glaring daggers at us."

She looked in, and rolled her eyes. "Seriously?" With a groan she pulled him on down the street. "How about Chinese?"

"Sounds good."

"Kate!"

She glanced at Castle. "Should we ignore him?"

"Kate!" The disembodied voice was closer now.

"How about lunch here?" He pulled her into the tiny restaurant, and pushed her body in front of his.

"Kate!" He'd followed them in.

"Why hasn't the Earth opened up and swallowed me yet..." she hissed, trying to hide as much of herself as she could in front of Castle.

"Bathrooms are down there, go," he whispered, "I'll get rid of him."

She turned around and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm tired of avoiding him, dodging him, and ignoring him," she mumbled, leaning heavily against his chest. "It's not like he's even following me, or anything. I just didn't realize until after we broke up that he and I actually ran around in the same circles. Same restaurants, same jogging trails in the park, same bars."

"I get it." He hugged her closer, trying to be the wall that Josh couldn't get to her through. "Is this the first time he's tried anything since you ran him off at the elevators?"

"Sort of. I've caught him holding doors, and I think he's been working less or different hours. I've seen him out jogging more, but this is the first time he's said anything."

"Kate." Josh made it over to their darkened corner of the lobby.

"She doesn't want to talk to you, Josh. It's why she was ignoring you."

"I'm not talking to you, Rick," he shot back, before turning his attention to Kate. "Can we go talk, somewhere else?"

"No. If you want to talk to me, you can do it here."

"Kate..."

"No, you don't get to 'Kate' me. You don't get to do that anymore, okay? We broke up. Get over me, because you're starting to creep me out just a little. You have zero chance of ever winning me back. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. None. You blew it when you freaked out over a teenaged girl asking me for help. Just... leave me alone. Please? Don't make me hate you." She never once in the entire speech took a step back from Castle, raised her voice, or lifted her head from his shoulder. Afterwards, though, she wrapped her arms around him and let her forehead rest against the little hollow point between his collar bones.

Josh gaped at her. Every time he tried to form words, he couldn't.

"Come on, let's go," he whispered, allowing one of his arms to fall away. With one arm still wrapped tightly around her shoulders, he led her back out onto the street. "Feel better?"

"Actually, I do," she answered and smiled up at him.

"Still in the mood for Chinese?" He pulled her closer as he asked the question.

"Yeah." They finished the rest of the walk in silence, and separated when they entered the restaurant.

"They must not have a big lunch crowd," Castle commented, noticing how quiet the dining room was. They followed the hostess to a booth in the corner, and Kate surprised him when she grabbed his wrist after sliding into one side. Taking it as an invitation he sat next to her, and couldn't help but smile as she hooked his arm over her shoulders. They fell back into an easy conversation after their food had been ordered. Her head on his shoulder and his fingers tangled with those on her right hand.

"Rick?"

"Hmm..." He looked down at her upturned face, her eyes were focused on his mouth.

"I don't kiss on the first date." She raised her left hand and traced the angle of his jaw with it.

"Then why does it look like you are sending me every signal in the world to the opposite of that?"

"This isn't our first date." She bit her lip and finally looked into his eyes. "Remy's, after the diamonds and Esposito's mother freaking snakes on a mother freaking plane."

"I guess that means you want me to kiss you?" He dipped his head and she raised hers and their lips met in a gentle kiss that left both of them reeling. With neither one of them holding anything back emotionally, the electricity that coursed between them, in this simple kiss, could have powered a third world country.


End file.
